Home advantage is held dear in the Six Nations, but for the third time in five seasons only one team playing on their own turf won on the opening weekend. France were ultimately comfortable victors over the Azzurri and, despite having a reputation for being slow starters, they tend to begin a campaign successfully when they are in Paris.

They played at Parc des Princes when they last lost at home on the opening weekend, to Wales back in 1975, although in 1992 they lost their first game at home, to England, having not been involved in the first round of what was then the Five Nations.

Ireland had not started off with a home defeat since the days of the Five Nations back in 1999 and faced a Wales side that was without four experienced tight-five forwards, while England had not won at Murrayfield for eight years and took a much-changed team to Edinburgh.

Defence, allied to Scotland's self-destructive quality, was England's bedrock but Wales took the game to Ireland and enjoyed the bulk of possession despite the changes they had had to make at forward, which were compounded by the loss of their captain, Sam Warburton, at half-time.

Wales fielded a big back division. Their wings, George North and Alex Cuthbert, were such a height and weight that their builds would have made them second-rows not 30 years ago. Given the way their lineout struggled in the first half, Wales may have been tempted to get them in the mix.

Ireland looked the likely winners with five minutes to go. They were six points ahead and Wales were about to get Bradley Davies back from the sin-bin, although why the second-row was not sent off for dumping Donnacha Ryan on the ground head first only the touch judge Dave Pearson knows.

It was not a tip-tackle because the ball was being contested some metres away. Davies had taken exception to the way Ryan had tried to clear out the prop Adam Jones at a ruck and the pair became involved in a grappling contest. It was foul play, as the citing commissioner rightly wrote, and the subsequent seven-week suspension was not harsh.

Davies's indiscipline could have cost his side because Ireland scored their second try in his absence. Wales have in the past tended to lose tight matches – they were pipped by South Africa and France by a point in the World Cup – and while Munster and Leinster have developed the capacity to win Heineken Cup matches when not at their best, the Welsh regions, generally, have not.

Wales were not afflicted by a sense of deja vu. They trusted themselves in possession, aided by Ireland's willingness to kick the ball to them rather than keep it in hand, and were particularly impressive after George North had scored their third try to reduce Ireland's lead to a point.

Ronan O'Gara kicked off, Wales caught the ball despite Toby Faletau clattering into Ryan Jones, and started a series of drives upfield in a passage of play that was a taste of what was to come in that night's Super Bowl in Indianapolis between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, one first down following another until Stephen Ferris was penalised for tip-tackling Ian Evans and Leigh Halfpenny kicked the winning points.

It contrasted with the way Wales had finished their World Cup semi-final against France three months before. They were trailing by a point, taking play through phases as they manoeuvred their way into position for Stephen Jones to drop a goal. Jones never felt comfortably close enough and France kept their discipline after earlier presenting Halfpenny with a long-range penalty that landed just short. Wales seemed the masters of the near miss.

The Six Nations is not the Heineken Cup. It was Ireland who cracked and for all Wales's absentees, it was Ireland's injured captain, Brian O'Driscoll, who was the most missed on the afternoon as Wales used the powerful North to made inroads into the home midfield. O'Driscoll would also have offered guidance to his outside-half, Jonathan Sexton, when Wales went down to 14 men and urged him to keep the ball in hand.

Wales were impressive and the likes of Gethin Jenkins and Dan Lydiate returned to training this week. Their coach, Warren Gatland, has created such an environment that players, such as North, who had looked jaded playing for their regions in December and January, were at their peak.

Players are replaceable, and Wales will be down to their fourth and fifth second-rows against Scotland on Sunday. There is an exception: Rhys Priestland at outside-half. His goal-kicking may have been awry, although it was Ireland who could not afford to miss kicks, but is able to fire his back division in a way Stephen Jones and James Hook have failed to do in recent years, exploiting a mixture of power and finesse behind that vexed Ireland in what was, after the World Cup quarter-final, another tactical triumph for the Wales management.

England's victory was based far more on what they did without the ball than with it. Their interim head coach, Stuart Lancaster, talked before the match about building a culture and the way his players scrambled in defence, making up for mistakes, showed a togetherness that had been missing during the World Cup.

Applicants for the full-time position of head coach have until 15 February to declare their interest. Lancaster has already done so and victory in Rome on Saturday would bolster his prospects. A question, though, for the Rugby Football Union, will be not so much what Lancaster and his coaching team have achieved, but how far they can take the side?

Lancaster aspires to the sort of rugby Wales played in Dublin – accuracy, width and composure – but Gatland endured a few lean years after winning the 2008 grand slam. Defence is an indicator of a side's heart; attack reflects its state of mind.

• Extract taken from The Breakdown, the Guardian's free weekly rugby email. Sign up here.